The Spinario By Antico Is The Daily Pic By Blake Gopnik
The Daily Pic: An Italian called Antico gave new heat to an old image.
(Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
A tabletop bronze of a boy pulling a thorn from his foot, made around 1500 by the Renaissance sculptor known as Antico. It’s one of those heartbreaking sights you come across by accident on any visit to any corner of the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Of course, it’s not all Antico’s idea. He based it on a much larger Roman statue that had survived to his day. But what I particularly like about Antico’s version is the way it takes the cherished body type and patina of a Roman bronze and adds the blond hair prized in Antico’s day, thereby transforming an ancient masterpiece descended from an essentially foreign culture into a contemporary, lovable treasure. What Antico may not have known is that the Romans also fancied blonds (and blondes), even if their surviving bronzes don’t show it.
For a full visual survey of past Daily Pics visit blakegopnik.com/archive.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.